Wisconsin Trooper Detained by ICE Released, but Must Remain Under Electronic Monitoring

United States immigration authorities have released Wisconsin State Patrol trooper Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe after detaining him. Federal immigration agents took him into custody on Thursday at an airport as he waited to board a domestic flight. On Friday, his lawyers said on social media that he would be released.

Van Der Merwe, a South African national, immigrated to the United States when he was 14. He has been waiting seven years for his asylum case to be heard. In the meantime, he received work authorization, valid through 2030, and used it to serve in Wisconsin's law enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the detention, saying he had overstayed a 2019 visa. A spokesperson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the United States.

Van Der Merwe's lawyers, the firm Christopher & De León, rejected that claim. They pointed out that another DHS agency, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), had authorized him to work. The firm added that it did not think ICE even believed its own statement.

Although released, Van Der Merwe will be subject to electronic monitoring and regular check-ins with immigration authorities. The agency did not immediately respond to an inquiry about what prompted his release.

In a statement, the attorneys wrote that his release is welcome news. But, they added, our fight is not over. Carel will still have to defend his immigration case before an immigration judge.

They continued: USCIS, an agency within DHS, authorized Carel to work. He used that authorization to serve and protect Wisconsin communities. ICE, another agency within DHS, then detained him. DHS owes this family more than silence.

Video of his graduation ceremony last year showed his badge being pinned on by his father in front of Wisconsin's governor.

Van Der Merwe's family of white South Africans arrived during Donald Trump's first term. They had good reason to expect that they would be granted asylum after Trump returned to office last year and signed an executive order saying the US would promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees. The order was based on the false claim that they would be escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination at home.

As part of the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, a series of highly public, contentious and in some cases deadly ICE raids have taken place across several US cities. The agenda has also played out at domestic and international airports, where travelers with visas, green-card holders and people with pending asylum cases have been detained. Some experts say this is an effort to meet arrest quotas imposed on the agency by the White House.

Van Der Merwe's law firm advised noncitizens with unresolved immigration paperwork to consult immigration attorneys before traveling by air. Even if you have flown without problems before, do not assume the same will happen now, they said.